Optical and surface properties of Zn doped CdO nanorods and antimicrobial applications

[Display omitted] •Pure and CdO:Zn nanorods synthesized by a simple economical combustion method.•The optical band gap energy was tuned by changing the Zn concentration.•XPS and PL were used to point out the different defects in the CdO samples.•The pure and CdO:Zn exhibited significant antibacterial and antifungal activities. The present work describes the synthesis of pure and Zn doped CdO (CdO:Zn) nanorods synthesized by a simple low-cost combustion technique. The optical, structural, morphological, and surface properties, as well as antimicrobial activities of the CdO:Zn nanoparticles were studied with respect to pure CdO. UV–Vis spectrometry and photoluminescence were used to study the optical properties of the pure and CdO:Zn samples. X-ray diffraction confirmed the presence of a cubic phase of the CdO as well as a minor CdO2 phase with no additional phase after doping with Zn. Field emission scanning electron microscope and Transmission electron microscope results confirmed a nanorod shaped morphology with spherical shaped nanoparticle distributed along the surface of the CdO nanorods for the pure and CdO:Zn. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to study the chemical state of the CdO:Zn. CdO:Zn samples exhibited significant antibacterial activities against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and an excellent antifungal activities against Aspergillus flavus; Fusarium verticilliodes with a change in antimicrobial behavior as compared to the pure CdO structures. The results revealed that the CdO nanorods based morphology can be used in the biomedical and pharmaceutical sectors as a good antibacterial agent.